› added 6 years ago

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TIL that despite paperwork audits indicating that working conditions in Nike’s sweatshop suppliers were steadily improving, qualitative audits found that in reality, nearly 80% of them had either worsened or stayed the same.

Evl0 TIL on New Year’s Eve, 1999, Brad Pitt rented a Mexican resort, filled it with his friends and at midnight had the government cut the power and phone lines and send in troops to raid the compound and “arrest” one of his best friends on drug charges - all as a practical joke!
e0b4D TIL African-Americans were largely responsible for creating the form of singing known as "barbershop quartet"
loyWK TIL Dante, author of 'Dante's Divine Comedy', is the primary reason why the Tuscan dialect of Italian became the "standardized" Italian language. In 1945, the fascist Italian government called Dante "the greatest symbol of Italianness".
OLnL TIL St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was founded in 1962 by comedian Danny Thomas. He promised St. Jude that if he made him successful, he would one day build him a shrine. The hospital has since become a leader in the study and treatment of children’s cancer. St. Jude got his shrine.
epM75 TIL Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts) was initially hesitant to perform the title song in Beauty and the Beast (1991) because of its unfamiliar rock style & was especially concerned that her "aging singing voice" wasn't strong enough to sustain its longer notes. Ultimately, she recorded it in one take.